The Nation Newspaper

Tag: ICAN

  • ICAN signs MoU with tertiary institutions

    ICAN signs MoU with tertiary institutions

    In keeping with its mandate to produce world-class chartered accountants and continually enhance their ethical standards and technical competence, the Institute of Chartered Accountants of Nigeria (ICAN) is entering into a mutual cooperation agreement with tertiary institutions (MCATI).

    The MCATI will be based on the institute’s new professional examinations syllabus which is being reviewed in line with international best practices and is expected to take effect from November 2014 professional examinations.

    Under the arrangement, accounting programmes of the partnering institutions from entry level to graduation will be jointly moderated by ICAN and its partners.

    On graduation, candidates will be granted appropriate exemptions and will be eligible to sit the institute’s professional examinations.

    The candidates shall also undergo a 36 month period of attachment and pass the qualifying examinations of the institute before being inducted as full members.

    This new arrangement was part of the deliberation of the Governing Council of the Institute at its August 2013 meeting. According to the 49th President and Chairman of Council of the Institute, Alhaji Kabir A. Mohammed, “when the programme is fully embraced by tertiary institutions, the institute would have found a solution to the challenge of inadequate preparation of candidates for the ICAN examinations.”

    The president explained further that “the mutual cooperation agreement with the tertiary institutions is one of the proactive measures by ICAN to ensure that individuals seeking to become chartered accountants acquire the knowledge, professional skills and competence required to protect the public interest in a rapidly changing business environment.”

  • Patriot group visits President Jonathan

    Patriot group visits President Jonathan

  • Produce credible financial reports, accountants urged

    Produce credible financial reports, accountants urged

    Chartered accountants have been urged to generate credible and reliable financial reports that will present the true state of public and private institutions.

    This was part of the communiqué issued at the 42nd Annual Accountants’ Conference of the Institute of Chartered Accountants of Nigeria (ICAN) in Abuja.

    Participants at the conference noted that the economy will function properly when participants have trust in the financial statements that drive activities and decisions in the capital market. They noted that the problems of the nation‘s uninspiring pace of development is attributed to the absence of strong institutions and professionals who give high regards to corporate governance.

    It recommended that chartered accountants should play a more active role in public governance, urging the institute to regularly engage all relevant stakeholders in advocating for good governance, principled leadership, institution-building and fiscal discipline.

    For a national rebirth, the conference urged the institute to ensure that its members hold to the highest level of professional standards and integrity and apply sanctions where members act in any manner that is inconsistent with the ideals of the profession.

  • ICAN recognises NDIC’s role in reforms

    ICAN recognises NDIC’s role in reforms

    The Institute of Chartered Accountants of Nigeria (ICAN), Abuja District Society has acknowledged roles played by the Nigeria Deposit Insurance Corporation (NDIC) in bringing sanity to the financial system, especially in the course of the banking reforms.

    ICAN Chairman, Abuja District, Shehu Usman Aladire, said NDIC’s role in the reforms inspired depositors’confidence in the nation’s banking system.

    Aladire spoke at a gala night in Abuja to honour the Managing Director/ Chief Executive Officer, NDIC, Umaru Ibrahim.

    The ICAN chairman cited the increase of deposit insurance coverage levels from N50,000 to N200,000 per depositor of deposit money banks (DMBs) and the extension of insurance coverage to depositors of microfinance banks (MfBs) as well as the primary mortgage banks (PMBs) at N100,000 per depositor of the MfBs and PMBs including the second upward review to N500,000 and N200,000 per depositor of DMBs and MfBs/PMBs. This, he said, had met the economic realities and promoted public confidence in the financial system.

    Another achievement of the corporation, he said, was the establishment of the bridge bank as a failure resolution option in the interest of depositors and other stakeholders.

    “While stressing that the NDIC’s initiative was internationally applauded, ICAN also noted with delight that the bridge bank approach adopted in 2010 prevented systemic crisis and outright liquidation of the affected banks. Such it said, would have had dire consequences for depositors and other stakeholders in the nation’s banking system,” a statement from NDIC said.

    The ICAN National Vice-President, Kabir Alkali Mohammed, also presented an award to Ibrahim for his contributions toward the safety, soundness and stability of the financial system.

    He described the recipient as an embodiment of hard work, integrity and humility. He said the vision of ICAN with its merit awards was to promote exemplary leadership by identifying and honouring individuals with outstanding achievements and enviable contributions toward the growth and development of the nation.

  • ICAN partner London counterpart

    ICAN partner London counterpart

    The Institute of Chartered Accountants of Nigeria (ICAN) has signed an agreement with the Institute of Chartered Accountants in England and Wales on ways of transforming ICAN’s exams, certification and audit control processes.

    Speaking at the Institute’s annual dinner in Lagos, ICAN President, Adedoyin Idowu Owolabi, said the partnership has the backing of the World Bank. He said there will be further collaboration between the institute and the Chartered Institute of Managements Accountants, United Kingdom, which will commence at the end of the first partnership.

    Owolabi also said the institute has signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with Babcock University, which entails the adoption of the ICAN syllabus by the school in addition to courses from other disciplines needed for a normal degree programme.

    He said with the MoU the varsity is meant to find a lasting solution to the dwindling performance of candidates and, ultimately, the quality of accountants being produced by the institute.

    He said the institute will sponsor the whistle blower’s protection bill at the National Assembly. When passed into law, such bill, he said, would promote best practices in corporate and public governance.

    In pursuant of this bill, the institute has launched a whistle blower’s protection fund while the draft bill is almost ready for submission at the National Assembly, he explained.

     

  • Lagos discovers ‘5.5m tax evaders’

    Lagos discovers ‘5.5m tax evaders’

    The Lagos State Commissioner for Finance, Mr. Tokunbo Abiru, on Thursday said that over 5.5 million taxable individuals in the informal sector had not been paying taxes to the state.

    Abiru said this in Lagos at the 3rd Annual Lecture and Inauguration of the Public Service Chapter of the Institute of Chartered Accountants of Nigeria (ICAN) in Lagos.

    He said there were eight million taxable individuals in the informal sector in the state, adding that only 2.5 million were captured in the tax net, leaving 5.5 million.

    “Taxation is the major bedrock of this present administration as the internally generated revenue almost doubled the allocation from the Federal Government.

    “The government is working hard to capture the other defaulting individuals and businesses into the net for proper collation,’’ the News Agency of Nigeria quoted the commissioner as saying at the gathering.

    Also speaking at the event, the President of ICAN, Mr. Doyin Owolabi, urged traders to report fake officials who were collecting taxes from them.

    “Lagos is the commercial nerve centre of the country, so there are people expecting a lot from the government, but are not willing to pay their tax.

    “Some are also complaining that taxes are being collected from them by some officials, but most of the funds do not get to the government’s purse.

    “Individuals in the informal sector should endeavour to report such fake officials to the appropriate sectors so that they won’t have to pay taxes twice, ‘’he said.

     

  • ICAN chief to lead 500 accountants to Ghana confab

    The President, Institute of Chartered Accountants of Nigeria (ICAN), Mr Doyin Owolabi, will lead a delegation of about 500 chartered accountants to the Second African Congress of Accountants (ACOA) holding in Ghana between 13 and 17.

    The congress is being organised by the Pan African Federation of Accountants (PAFA) and hosted by the Institute of Chartered Accountants, Ghana (ICAG) in collaboration with ICAN.

    In a statement, ICAN said the congress whose theme is, Africa’s economic growth, accountability and democracy, will explore issues related to key areas that directly and indirectly affect the accountants’role in economic growth, accountability and democracy through seminars, workshop and exhibitions.

    Apart from the theme of the congress, advanced topics and issues affecting today’s dynamic business landscape, such as the implications of implementing IFRS, strengthening financial markets and institutions in Africa, shaping the accounting profession on the continent, promoting the growth of SMPs, building capacity of SMPs etc, will be discussed.

     

  • ICAN trains, certifies 38,000

    The Institute of Chartered Accountants of Nigeria (ICAN), has so far trained and certified over 38, 000 chartered accountants who are engaged in the creation of values in all sectors of the economy, its President, Adedoyin Owolabi, has said.

    Speaking at a public lecture, titled; ‘Accountancy Profession as a Tool for Economic Development,’ in Calabar, Owolabi said the body has currently registered a student population of about 186, 000 in its professional programme.

    He said since the introduction of the Institute’s Accelerated Programme, the number of students qualifying as chartered accountants have risen to 2500 annually.

    Also, in order to facilitate the production of middle level manpower needed by the nation in the development process, he said they introduced the Accounting Technician’s Scheme which has trained more that 12, 500 technicians in the last fifteen years.

    He said the scheme currently has a registered student population of over 98, 000.

  • ICAN holds Ikeja district meeting

    ICAN holds Ikeja district meeting

    The Institute of Chartered Accountants of Nigeria (ICAN) will hold a mostly members meeting of Ikeja District Society on Saturday, January 19.

    The meeting will take place at the training hall of Nigeria Civil Aviation Authority office Annex, domestic wing of Murtala Muhammad International Airport, Ikeja, Lagos.

    One of the facilitators is the Director of Banking & Payment System with the Central Bank of Nigeria, Mr. Dipo Fatokun,

    He will deliver a paper titled: “Mobile Money in Nigeria, Prospects, Opportunities and Challenges.”

     

  • ICAN harps on credible data

    Accountants have been urged to generate credible financial reports that will present a true state of public and private institutions.

    In a communiqué at the 42nd Annual Accountants’ Conference of the Institute of Chartered Accountants of Nigeria (ICAN) in Abuja, participants also noted that the economy would function properly when participants have trust in the financial statements that drive activities and decisions in the capital market.

    It noted that the problems of the nation‘s uninspiring pace of development, is attributed to the absence of strong institutions and professionals who give high regards to corporate governance.

    The conference recommended that accountants should play a more active role in public governance. It urged the Institute to regularly relevant stakeholders in advocating good governance, principled leadership, institution-building and fiscal discipline.

    It urged the institute to ensure that its members hold to the highest level of professional standards and integrity and apply big stick where members act fail to adhere to rules.